Airport charges for dropping off.

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Sun 25 Jul 2021 12:59
Airport charges for dropping off. - barney100

We flew from Stansted a couple of years ago (well the plane did) and the taxi driver stuck three pounds on the fare as the airport charged this for dropping us off, apparently Heathrow and Gatportairwick are charging a fiver for the privilege now.

It's not a lot really but annoying all the same.

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Sun 25 Jul 2021 13:28
Airport charges for dropping off. - FP

I gather most (all?) airports are doing this now. Luton, our closest, has been doing it for some time. And certainly taxis will add the charge to the fare. Currently it's £5.

In the case of Luton you can avoid it, if you're using your own car to get someone to the airport, by not using the designated "Drop-off" area and parking free for a limited time in one of the airport car parks. From the closest one it's a 600m walk, for others further away, you (or your passengers) use one of the shuttle buses to get to the terminal, which is not nearly as convenient.

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Sun 25 Jul 2021 13:53
Airport charges for dropping off. - daveyjp

Leeds Bradford has had this for many years. You can either be dropped off in a free car park 5-10 minutes walk from the terminal or pay extra on the fare. Approach roads drop offs have been stopped by introducing a double red line no stopping zone around the airport

The drop off fee can be avoided by using the official airport taxis which is what we do as they are no more expensive than other private hire and you can book return trip for a saving.

The last flight we took from Manchester was three years ago, a few weeks after the drop off fee went live and were vehicles stopping everywhere on the approach roads. Truly dangerous as vehicles were then performimg u-turns across double white lines etc.

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Sun 25 Jul 2021 14:12
Airport charges for dropping off. - badbusdriver

Aberdeen, my nearest airport, having been charging for pick up/drop off for years now, must be at least 5. Last time I used it, which was certainly pre covid, it was around £2, which you chucked in a 'hopper' type thing. Probably got a contactless card option now too I'd imagine.

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Sun 25 Jul 2021 16:05
Airport charges for dropping off. - brum

£5 for 5 min max at Manchester!

Heathrow is FREE and right outside the terminal (but no waiting)

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Sun 25 Jul 2021 16:08
Airport charges for dropping off. - movilogo

In the case of Luton you can avoid it

Some tried dropping passengers outside of the designated area and received £80 fine. That was on road though - not on long/short term parking areas.

Heathrow is FREE and right outside the terminal (but no waiting)

www.standard.co.uk/news/uk/heathrow-airport-passen...l

From October you need to pay £5.

Edited by movilogo on 25/07/2021 at 16:11

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Sun 25 Jul 2021 17:00
Airport charges for dropping off. - Heidfirst

It's £4 for upto 10 minutes at Glasgow in an area of car park 2. Longer than that & you are better off in short term parking. www.glasgowairport.com/to-and-from/pick-up-and-dro.../

Edinburgh is similar although they do apparently have a free area further from the terminal with a shuttle bus. www.edinburghairport.com/edinburgh-airport-parking...p

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Mon 26 Jul 2021 06:20
Airport charges for dropping off. - JonestHon

Did Luton fixed their God awfully parking surfaces?

Last I used it in 2018 and vowed never again.

Dragging wheeled suitcases over gravel for any distant left many passengers with damaged wheels and muddy shoes.

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Mon 26 Jul 2021 09:25
Airport charges for dropping off. - FP

"Did Luton fixed their God awfully parking surfaces?"

I can't speak for the car parks themselves, but the drop-off area is smooth tarmac.

When we have flown from Luton we either get someone to take us, or use public transport (bus + train + shuttle), or taxi.

Not sure how soon we will be flying again!

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Mon 26 Jul 2021 11:26
Airport charges for dropping off. - Terry W

Fly 1500 miles to the Med for £30. Then add:

  • airport parking ~£60
  • hold luggage ~£60
  • coffee and a sandwich ~£12

At Briistol Airport there used to be rows of cars parked up on the A38 waiting for people to call for pick up, not wanting to pay rip-off short term parking charges.

The reality is that Easyjet and Ryanair have the negotiating power to push down airport charges which simply need to be recovered from an easier target - us!

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Tue 27 Jul 2021 09:32
Airport charges for dropping off. - Xileno

I tend to use public transport now when flying (usually Bristol), easy train ride to Temple Meads then the airport bus. I had a stressful experience years ago at Bristol (about 2007), despite having booked a parking space, when I turned up there we no spaces. I think a couple of in-coming flights had been held up. I was not short of time but didn't have too much to waste either. Spoke to a carpark attendant in a hi-viz jacket, was told to just park on the yellow lines. Wasn't happy to do that, who would pay my fine? So I drove around the car park a few times and on the fourth time by huge fortune spotted someone reversing out of a space so I grabbed it. Huge relief as by this time I was getting a bit close to the line with time. Now I always use the bus or get someone to drop me off.

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Tue 27 Jul 2021 23:09
Airport charges for dropping off. - Andrew-T

I tend to use public transport now when flying

We live about an hour's train ride from M'cr airport, and can fly from there to most of the places we are interested in. So as we are close to a station with hourly trains to it, that is what we use. It's a bit of a hike to check-in, but no worse than from many car parks - and no worries about damage to the car.

But for various reasons we don't fly much now - the flying is OK, but the rest of it is an increasingly unpleasant experience.

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Mon 26 Jul 2021 11:42
Airport charges for dropping off. - FoxyJukebox
I am always staggered by the number of locked and empty cars in airport drop off bays. Apart from obviously exceeding their mini time limit -these drivers presumably incur large fines or risk being clamped. Perhaps they don’t mind paying more?
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Mon 26 Jul 2021 14:49
Airport charges for dropping off. - FP

Several times over the years I've been in the Luton drop-off area, where you're allowed ten minutes for what you pay, and have seen cars lifted and taken away.

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Mon 26 Jul 2021 15:36
Airport charges for dropping off. - FoxyJukebox
What happens is the dropping off driver helps his passengers out of the car and escorts them -with luggage-into their terminal “check in “queue then has a coffee and a nice goodbye before heading back to drop off -20 mins later??

Edited by Dogfuzz on 26/07/2021 at 15:36

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Mon 26 Jul 2021 16:25
Airport charges for dropping off. - daveyjp

If its like Leeds they pay whatever is due for the time they were parked. Charges are eyewatering to discourage longer stays

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Mon 26 Jul 2021 16:47
Airport charges for dropping off. - FP

"What happens is the dropping off driver helps his passengers out of the car and escorts them -with luggage-into their terminal “check in “queue then has a coffee and a nice goodbye before heading back to drop off -20 mins later??"

I thought what happens in that scenario was clear from my previous post.

At Luton at least, after 20 mins your car may be in a compound before you get back to where you left it and I imagine it will cost you to get it released. There is also a £1 per minute charge for overstaying.

I've discovered this:

"If you decide to leave your car to help your passenger in to the terminal or overstay the allotted time, then fines* of £80 are commonplace."

*As the drop-off area is private land managed by APCOA, technically it's not a fine and could be challenged.

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Mon 26 Jul 2021 16:52
Airport charges for dropping off. - Bromptonaut

*As the drop-off area is private land managed by APCOA, technically it's not a fine and could be challenged.

Luton Airport is still 100% owned by the Council. Is it possible that the parking is managed via by-laws rather than the regime for private land?

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Mon 26 Jul 2021 17:40
Airport charges for dropping off. - FP

I was basing my statement on this, from a local newspaper: "The parking area [drop-off point] is on private land operated by APCOA Parking UK on behalf of Luton Airport and while the ticket may look like an official fixed penalty notice, it’s not. It means it’s a civil and not criminal matter" - according to a Citizens Advice Bureau spokesperson.

However, now I check, the date is 10 years ago. Maybe it's now council-owned. Certainly the location of the drop-off point has changed in that time.

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Mon 26 Jul 2021 17:44
Airport charges for dropping off. - brum

Luton seems to have been a giant unfinished worksite for many years.

What I object to is the private surveillance vehicles such as East Midlands, Liverpool and others where the airport somehow thinks they own all the public roads and are within their right to issue £100 fines to anyone who stops, drives too slowly, too fast, even spends too long at the petrol station. Mostly done covertly.

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Mon 26 Jul 2021 22:17
Airport charges for dropping off. - FoxyJukebox
“Luton-a giant unfinished work site”…agree
Shocking access, horrendous car parking charges, foul open air long walks to and from terminal. no public transport other than the dreary station a mile away . I try and avoid . Grim in the extreme.
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Mon 26 Jul 2021 23:49
Airport charges for dropping off. - FP

"no public transport other than the dreary station a mile away"

I'm afraid that is simply not true. Plenty of buses to various destinations right at the terminal building, including to London, and the shuttle to the rail station.

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Tue 27 Jul 2021 08:39
Airport charges for dropping off. - FoxyJukebox
Sorry-Yes-I should have added the word “reliable”-since apart from the shuttle I’m not sure if I would choose to rely on local or longer distance buses when either flying or arriving on a Sunday
evening.
Btw-does anyone know when the train will be built to go up the hill directly into the terminal-that would make a huge positive difference.




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Tue 27 Jul 2021 08:53
Airport charges for dropping off. - FP

"... does anyone know when the train will be built to go up the hill directly into the terminal-that would make a huge positive difference."

Construction is now at an advanced stage. The Direct Air-Rail Transit (DART) is scheduled to be operational in 2022. It will cut the travel time from the mainline station (Luton Airport Parkway) to the airport terminal to four minutes, enabling connections between the airport and central London in thirty minutes.

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Tue 27 Jul 2021 15:25
Airport charges for dropping off. - JonestHon

--- Sorry-Yes-I should have added the word “reliable”-since apart from the shuttle I’m not sure if I would choose to rely on local or longer distance buses when either flying or arriving on a Sunday

evening.
Btw-does anyone know when the train will be built to go up the hill directly into the terminal-that would make a huge positive difference.-----

-----

Tend to agree but my experience is a couple of years old.

If you want to get to the airport from the M1 when the place is busy, all I can say is good luck, what other airport do you know that have constant traffic jams stretching few miles?! Try to run with a baby and and get to the terminal before they close the check outs, not something I would like to repeat (even with leaving home 4.5 hours before the check out open as we live 2 hours away from Luton).

I really hope things are better now in old Luton, as I certainly had better experiences in some third world country airports where you travel via jungles to get to.

Edited by JonestHon on 27/07/2021 at 15:26

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Tue 27 Jul 2021 18:56
Airport charges for dropping off. - Warning

Heathrow is trying to recover some because of their incompetence in pandemic handling. They could have played a role in reducing cases. You have passengers coming in from red list countries mixing with those from green list countries.

They have been dragging their feet. They want a third runway and expect the public to pay for it. They expect motorist to reduce emissions, whilst they continue to grow.

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